Garda cover for Ballinamore music festival cost €8,000

New figures reveal An Garda Síochána was paid nearly €8,000 for policing duties at a renowned Country music festival in Ballinamore last year.

This was by far the highest amount that was paid for such duty at events in the Shannonside region in 2017.

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Non-public duty is performed by members of the gardaí under arrangements made with organisers of events, such as football matches, concerts and race meetings, who seek to engage the police to perform duties they wouldn’t normally be assigned to.

This work is normally done by gardai who would otherwise be off duty.

At specific larger events, the gardaí seeks a contribution from the promoters to overall policing costs.

The force received a total of 23 payments last year.

By far the highest amount was the €8,000 paid for policing duties at the Cowboys and Heroes County Music and America Festival in Ballinamore, which was held from June 2th to 5th.

The next highest was the €3,500 paid by Burma Shave DAC for policing duties in Boyle.

The Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon paid nearly €4,000 for policing duties at six different events during the year.

Nearly €5,000 was paid for by Roscommon Races for seven meetings at its racecourse in the county town last year.

Perhaps the biggest entertainment event is Longford is the Hype Festival, run by Foróige, which attracts about 5,000 young people who enjoy the music on offer.

Last year the cost of policing duties at this event was just over €1,500.